Ypsilanti mother fights to have deceased son's student loan forgiven

A grieving mother, stuck paying for her deceased son's private student loan, is hoping others will hear her story.

Ypsilanti resident Ella Edwards, 61, started a Change.org petition to let others know her situation could happen to them and in the hope her son's debt, now hers, will be forgiven.

Ella had co-signed three student loans for her only son, Jermaine Edwards, a 24-year-old who died suddenly in 2009 of natural causes.

After his death, their two federal loans were forgiven. However, a loan from a private lender, First Marblehead Corporation, was not.

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"I don't want anyone to go through what I'm going through," she said. "You're grieving for your child and you have people calling you for money to pay for something you can't use, my baby took it to the grave with him."

Since starting her Change.org petition, it has received nearly 190,000 signatures from people throughout the world. The petition will be delivered to officials at First Marblehead and American Education Services.

Jermaine was a graduate of Willow Run High School and had an interest in music production. After graduating from Full Sail, he returned to Ypsilanti then eventually moved back to Atlanta after he learned he was going to be a father.

While living in Atlanta, he put his music career on hold and took a job at the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Even though he was miles away, he still called his mother at least two or three times a day, she said.

In January, she drove to Atlanta to be with her son because he said he missed her. Two months later, he passed away.

Edwards said words cannot describe what she is going through. However, she finds strength to carry on through her church, 2-year-old grandson, family and friends.

And, even though she is still grieving, she's using this as an opportunity to tell others about her situation so they don't have to go through the same thing.

Edwards is not the only individual on Change.org with a petition against the company.

A second petition created by Angela Smith from Virginia also asks First Marblehead to dismiss her deceased son's student debt.

"It's inspiring to see Ella follow in the footsteps of other Change.org petition creators who've used our site to take on big financial institutions and win," stated Charlotte Hill, communications manager at Change.org. "Moreover, the support Ella is earning through her petition is obviously making a big personal difference for her. That's been the most powerful thing to watch unfold."

Officials from First Marblehead Corporation could not be reached for comment.